Time and time again when controversy surrounded preachers that were close to Bush, the country was told to just relax, since we have a "seperation of church & state" (lol) it shouldnt matter what these pastors told Bush/Obama, because their religion won't influence the way the govern.

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Hey, frankly I'm very happy we're finally seeing some interest in vetting the religious crackpots that advise political figures. We certainly would have benefitted from a more thorough investigation into the Messianic lunatics and snake-handlers Emperor Dipshit fraternized with in the previous elections.

I shouldn't be surprised that the first time the media thought this worth pursuing is when the Negro was leading the race, but now that Pandora's box has been opened and no future candidate can cry "unfair" now that the precedent has been set. The next step is for the media to start asking hard questions about faith instead of the free pass any pious proclamation typically receives. Do Jews go to heaven? Is the Bible inerrant? Do you recognize any spiritual authority in the Pope? It's all well and good to stand in front of a giant cross and proclaim "Jesus changed my heart" but let's get down to brass tacks and take a closer look to see who's a sincere believer and who is just suckering the rubes with phony theology.

Also I highly doubt the interactions between Ayers and Obama were discussions about killing americans. Who knows though, the november surprise may be audio of just that, that surprisingly gets leaked by friends of Karl Rove.

" Fuck Obama and doubling the capital gains tax. Seriously, that would be disastrous for me and the other 100 million Americans who own stock."
The vast majority of the "100 million" own stock through tax deferred 401ks and IRAs. The fact that ABC could get the facts so fucked up is ridiculous.

" But don't you understand? Its not your money, it is money that should go to underprivledged people with no jobs and rediculous, bloated, poorly concieved social programs."
If by "poorly conceived social programs" you mean the Iraqi welfare project then I suppose so if you are a Bush/McCain supporter. But I personally disagree.

Stephanopoulos said that getting criticized "comes with the territory."

"Our job is to ask the questions," he said. "His job is to go out and win votes."

Asked to defend the fact that policy didn't come up for the first 40 or so minutes of the debate, Stephanopoulos said:

"We decided to focus at the top on the issues that had been at the center of the debate since the last debate. Everything we brought up in that front section had not come up since the last debate. And they all focused on the same theme -- which candidate would be a stronger Democratic candidate in Novembber."

"This is the core question for the campaigns, and a lot of Democratic voters right now. That's why we decided to lead with it."

Asked why we should presume that electability, rather than issues, was the dominant concern of many Dems right now, Stephanopoulos argued that it was a frequent topic of discussion on the campaign trail.

"People also take into account...how candidates handle controversy," he said. "That's what campaigns are about, as well."

Asked why the moderators had chosen to spend time on Wright, when Obama has repeatedly responded to questions about him, Stephanopoulos defended it by saying that Wright's most incendiary comments had come to light, and Obama's speech in response, had both come after the previous debate.

When I asked him whether asking about Obama's derelict approach to his flag lapel pin risked making it look like right-wing frames were dictating the line of questioning, Stephanopoulos said:

"Sure, there's a risk." But he added: "If you look at the fall campaign, there are some clear signals from Senator Obama's opponents that all of these issues are going to be put together in a general argument. They all go back to that same theme."

Stephanopoulos rejected the contention of many Obama supporters that the debate, with its focus on Wright and William Ayers -- not to mention that flag-pin -- was unduly stacked against Obama.

"The first series of questions to Senator Clinton were not questions she wanted to answer," he said. "The second series of questions were on credibility and honesty."

Asked whether his background as a political operative had resulted in too much of a focus on electability and on the candidates' handling of media "scandals," Stephanopoulos said:

"You can't help but be shaped by your experience," but he added: "I don't think it's unique to me. This is a conversation that Democrats and some Republicans are having every single day. It's not only, who will be the best president, but who has the best chance of winning."

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